As alumni and Penn State fans rolled into town for the first home football game of the season, local police officers tackled their own task of keeping State College safe.
The weekend showed a spike in incident numbers, many stemming from or relating to the use of alcohol, according to the Penn State University Police and Fire Daily Activity Log. There were also a few minor car crashes and drug possessions, according to the log.
Penn State Police reported 29 counts of underage drinking from Friday through Monday morning and reported that eight people were transported to the hospital, according to the log.
Among other incidents, public drunkenness ranked high for the top offenses, with 18 reported cases and three counts of possession of marijuana, according to the log.
But despite the increased numbers, State College Police Department said the weekend was pretty typical of a home football game, with more incidents occurring Friday night. Police could not release official numbers for the weekend as of press time Monday.
“People were pretty well behaved,” said Sgt. Todd Scholton.
Incidents reported to State College Police included underage drinking, public drunkenness and criminal mischief, including a few broken windows and fences. In most cases, people in connection with the incidents were gone by the time police arrived on the scene, Scholton said.
